Gaydamak is up for cup

Ahead of tomorrow’s FA Cup final, Portsmouth owner Sacha Gaydamak believes that the club should be challenging for silverware on a regular basis.

The 32-year-old took charge of Pompey in 2006 and expects the South Coast club to push the big four closer next season. “The pressure will rise,” he said. “We’ll have to work on player recruitment and the infrastructure. If we qualify for Europe, the manager will naturally need a bigger squad and it’s my job to make funds available to him.”

Portsmouth have been linked with a move for Chelsea defender Tal Ben Haim. He would be the third Jewish player to have represented the club following in the footsteps of Eyal Berkovic and former inside left, Mike Barnard who played during the 1950s. Barnard also played cricket for Hampshire. Betar Jerusalem look set to clinch Israeli double for the first time after winning the State Cup on Tuesday night.

The league leaders beat Hapoel Tel Aviv 5-4 on penalties in the final after a dour 0-0 draw. Croatian keeper Tvrtko Kala saved two penalties to send the 41,000 Betar fans at Ramat Gan wild as they won the cup for the first time in 19 years. “It’s a great feeling to win the cup, especially in my first season at the club,” said manager Yitzhak Shum.